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891 Centre has a new owner

PONDSIDE—After months of uncertainty for building tenants—including the non-profits the Union of Minority Neighborhoods (UMN) and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy (ENC)—the office building at 891 Centre St. got a new owner in December:Dedham-based Salvatore Capital Partners.

The building was put up for auction by Citizens Bank in September after former owner Arboway Centre LLC. defaulted on a $2 million mortgage.

The new owner—which set up the company Orchard Street Acquisitions LLC for the purchase—paid $1.2 million for the property, said property manager Tony Natale. Natale works for Salvatore Capital’s in-house management company, GJS Management.

“We have no plans to change the usage in any way,” Natale told the Gazette.

Tenants at the building that the Gazette has spoken to all had praise for the new owner. “They have been terrific so far,” said ENC director Julie Crockford. “They have come into the building and started to do things” like clean the bathrooms and empty trashcans, she said.

UMN Director Horace Small said long-standing issues with the building’s heat have been worked out as well.

Natale said GJS is still “getting to know” the situation at the new building. “There are no current plans to raise the rents,” he said.

The former owners included John Judge, who last year took a post as chief development officer for the City of Springfield, Mass.